Just a time traveler passing through
by firelutkar
Summary: Andrea's conclusion to the mess that she had gotten herself in was that transportation of organic beings was a bit trickier than she expected. Add that she is 170 years in the future and millions of lightyears away from home she was most certainly out of her element. Starts in ME2 after Shepard has picked up Kasumi, Garrus, and Mordin. Eventual Javik/OC and Shepard/Garrus
1. Don't try this at home

Because there's not nearly enough Javik fanfiction! It will be slow romance wise since it starts in the second game but eventually it'll get there. Rated M for violence, Andrea's and Jack's potty mouth, and, one day, smut.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mass Effect series.

Wallet: Check.

Phone: Check.

Charger: Check.

Toothbrush and toothpaste: Check.

Extra clothes: Check.

I went over the last of my checklist for the ninth time. I knew everything was there but I couldn't help but feel nervous. The crackling of electricity filled the air as the gears of my machine whirled. I rubbed my tongue across my teeth, feeling the grittiness of the plaque. I realized that I hadn't bathed in days; my need to finish this project overcame all other necessities in time for my presentation.

"Okay, first things first. I need to shower and eat. If my calculations are correct this should send me to the other side of the orphanage. Then I'll take it to my professors, get a patent, and get out of this hell hole." I was aware that I was muttering to myself but I didn't stop. The people who thought it was creepy had long stopped bothering me. They said that their breath was wasted on trying to stop me from acting crazy.

"I'll show them crazy." It wasn't my fault that it helped me keep all these thoughts in order. I grabbed some clothes, hoping they were clean, then darted into the bathroom for a quick shower. While the water heated up I darted out of the bathroom to grab a cereal bar or 'emergency food rations', as I liked to call them. I swallowed the last bit as I stepped into the water. I wanted to get this over as quickly as possible so that I could try the device so I brushed my teeth in the shower and roughly combed through my wet curls. I knew they were just going to frizz out once they dried anyways so what was the point in actually trying? The thought of shaving off the other half passed through my head, and not for the first time. As the last of the suds ran off my body I shut the water off, dried off, and dressed.

"On the bright side, the rocks that I put in stopped coming out all hot and covered in black stuff." A worn t-shirt went over my head and I grabbed a clean towel. Always bring a towel with you, as the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy would say. I grabbed it to shove it into the backpack and walked back into my 'workshop' as the younger kids called it. Speaking of younger kids…

"Hey! Get away from that!" I stormed towards some of the younger guttersnipes that were currently playing with monitor and keyboard of my machine.

"Awww, we just wanted to play some games. What is this junk anyways?" The brat thought that pushing his lower lip would make me think he was too cute to kick him out of my room but I had sixteen years of experience with bullshit.

" Here, play with this." I handed them an old phone that I kept around for shits and giggles. It had a few games on it like Solitaire and Bejeweled.

"Now. Get. Out." The words were seething enough to get them out but not threatening enough for them to tattle on me. They grabbed the phone and ran giggle out the door. _And now to see if they fucked anything up_. I went to the monitor, checking the binary codes that were on the screen.

The awful thing about being tired is it's hard to catch mistakes.

I placed my left hand through the portal to test the waters, so to speak. I figured if I were to lose a hand I could go on without my weaker hand. It tingled more than anything else and when I pulled it back it came back not inside out, so that was a plus.

"Test one of a live human subject," I spoke into a small recorder. When I got to the other side I would record the results.

"Well, here goes nothing." I grabbed my backpack filled with random things just in case I got sent to the other side of the world, shoved the towel in there, and slung it over my back. I went over my checklist for the tenth time before deciding to grab my notebook with all the schematics on my machine and shoved them into the bag. I took a deep breath and step through.

And HOLY HELL did it hurt.

It felt like my skin was on fire. In the left side of my mind, a little voice said 'recording 113, first test of live human subjects. Test subject reacted in pain after going through the portal.' I let my head rest on the cold metal floor I had ungracefully fallen on and clenched my jaw to avoid screaming until the pain finally subsided. My ears were ringing and I realized that my eyes were closed. Something wet ran down my neck. I tried opening my eyes but it felt like they had gotten sunburnt. I faintly heard a robotic voice in the distance saying something along of the lines of 'There's an intruder in the cargo bay'.

"How could there be an intruder? We don't even have a cargo bay?" I was about to chuckle at my own pain driven delirium until I realized that even my mouth felt like it had been burnt. I began coughing instead.

"Commander, I believe you should take her to the medical bay." There was that voice again. It reminded me of Siri on the IPhone I worked my butt off to buy. I groaned in pain as I was lifted up.

"I believe you're correct EDI. Well, at least she's alive. I have a lot of questions for the person that just appeared in my ship." I was scooped up and each time the person carrying me took a step it felt like someone had slapped me. I somehow managed not to cry out.

'Test 114: Subject is responding to outside stimuli. No brain damage is suspected.' I berated the left side of my brain until it shut the fuck up.

"Lay her down gently, Commander. She has serious burns on her eyes and in her mouth. Probably had slight asphyxiation and might have a broken rib. She should be okay with the Omni-gel but it'll take a while." The new voice was older, almost like how I imagined a grandmother sounding. I was lowered onto something soft, most likely a medical cot if I understood the situation correctly. An orange light reached past my eyelids then disappeared. It was harsh but my eyes and throat felt like they weren't on fire, so I couldn't complain too much. I felt weightless for a moment and I realized that I had passed out at some point. I wearily opened them, expecting the pain to return. I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't and allowed my eyes to fully open.

My surrounds looked less like what could be found in a hospital and more like what would be found on a ship. _Did someone say something about a ship right? Or did I imagine that?_ The orange light that I had seen behind my eyelids was some form of arm device attached to an older woman. Where the light touched there was instant relief from the pain. I watched without moving as the skin that was burnt went back to its original state, possibly even healthier.

"My dear, are you able to speak? You were out for about an hour. Disorientation is to be expected." She had apparently noticed that I was watching her. My mouth still felt like it had a film in it but it would be manageable. I had barely responded to her question when a new person appeared in front of me.

"What's your name and how did you get on my ship?" It was a question but the tone left no room for not answering.

"Andrea. And I don't know how I got aboard you ship ma'am. I was testing my machine in my room in Idaho… Then I was here. Can I have some water please?" Her gaze made me want to be on the best behavior. The lady raised one red eyebrow; it made the scars on her face twist in a grotesque manner.

"Idaho? Do you really think I would buy that story?" She crossed her arms as I sat up. The older lady handed me a cup and I downed the content. So long as it cleared my throat I didn't care what it was.

"Commander, her vitals suggest she is telling the truth." The Siri voice came from no visible location.

"Thanks, EDI. What was this machine you were talking about?" Her arms were still crossed but her face seemed to be a bit more at ease. I began to push myself into a sitting position. The pain was still slightly there, almost like when you pull a scab off before its completely healed; everything was tender. My side felt like there was a cramp in it and I was sure it was bruised but it wasn't anything I couldn't work through. The doctor lady told me to take it easy and I smiled at her concern.

"Um… Did I have a bag with me?" This "Shepard" lady motioned for the bag and what I had originally assumed was just a weird looking statue moved and made a few noises that sounded like chirps and trills and overlapping tones. The bag was placed next to me but everything suddenly felt fuzzy. It was probably a good thing I was sitting already because I would have fainted.

"Ma'am… Where am I? You said it was a ship right? So the Atlantic? Pacific? " My voice sounded high pitch and shaky even in my own ears so I couldn't imagine how it sounded in someone else's view. Her eyebrow rose again.

"You're on the SSV Normandy SR-2. We're currently docked at the Citadel."

"And… where is the Citadel? And what does SSV mean? I've heard of USS but never SSV." The thing chirped a few times but I ignored it. I wasn't sure if the stress or the lack of actual sleep or the fact that I hadn't really eaten in a few days was making me see things so the thought was if I pretended it wasn't there it would go away. That didn't seem to be working, though.

"You honestly don't know where the Citadel is? And don't know what SSV means? Where are you from?" I wasn't the savviest when it came to knowing pop culture but I was decent at geography and a place called the Citadel would have definitely stuck in my brain. And WHAT WAS THAT THING HANGING AROUND US!? I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. There was bound to be a logical explanation. Plus he didn't seem aggressive so there was no reason to fly off the pan.

"I told you, I'm from Idaho." I dug through my bag and pulled out my wallet to show my state ID. Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"This is from 2016."

"Yeah? Did I fall into a coma or is everyone on boats insane?" I realized I was being snippy a bit too late when a brown-haired woman wearing a white catsuit cast me an icy look. She could give me all the mean looks she wanted. I wasn't the one with a camel toe. It was almost hard not to look at it. It just protruded like it was saying 'Hi there, I'm Miss Camel Toe, it's nice to meet you!'

"It's 2185. You're several million light years away from earth. And you're saying that the reason that this is true is because of a machine you built? EDI, get Mordin. I'm sure he'll love this. Miranda, run a background check on her. I want to know what's going on here."

"You have a camel toe." Apparently while my brain was off to lunch my body decided to fulfill its need to point dumb shit out. My mouth snapped shut as the last words passed through it. I coughed awkwardly as she turned on a heel and walked out of the room in a 'better than thou' manner that a lot of my schoolmates had. Well. That could have definitely gone better.

I decided to rummage through my bag before my mouth said something stupid again. I eventually found a small binder filled to the rim with varies notes. Some were on actual notepaper, some written in crayon on construction paper. My face felt hot as I looked at the poorly drawn doodles I had meant to erase before anyone saw them. I flipped through the pages until I found a large piece of canvas that had a rough sketch of my device. I hopped off the bed shakily and began to unfold the drawing until it was laid out across the bed. I was looking at what I considered my baby when I heard fast moving gibberish. The words moved so fast together that it almost sounded like a bubbling creek.

I had a feeling that if I looked up I would probably see something I wasn't quite ready to deal with. After a vote of ninety-nine brain stems to one the course of action has been decided to look up. Brown eyes met with large black one. He was a lot less scary looking than the other one. Kinda looked like a frog.

"Andre, did you hear Mordin?" Did she understand them? I don't know how she would be able to. Though they seemed to understand us fine. Maybe some kind of translator?

"Ma'am, do you have a translator? It seems like the only logical explanation to how you're able to understand them. It just sounds like chirps from the big one and gibberish from him." The avian looking alien made more chirping and a noise that sounded vaguely like a chuckle and the red-haired woman smiled at him before turning to the human doctor. I really need to get all of their names. I think the skinny alien's name is Mordin. And the scary lady is Shepard? Though I guess scary isn't the right word… Intimidating maybe? Take chargey? _There had to be a word for that._ My brain went on another break apparently because the next thing I knew my wrist was grabbed and something was slid over my hand. It tightened until it was snug and I felt a sharp prick in my vein. Then my head was tilted and something was stuck deep in my ear. I heard a click deep in my head and the warble of the smaller alien's voice suddenly made sense. It was like when I started taking my calculus class in college and for first few days was confusing and then one day it just clicked into place.

"Ah. Device must be working. Omni-tool. Very useful. Can be used as translator as well as flashlight, a camera, repairing ite-"

"Mordin, you're rambling." So his name was definitely Mordin. I went over all the things I knew at the present moment. _Skinny dude's name was Mordin. Red headed chick was probably named Shepard. Her last name perhaps? And she was the commander of this ship. Which was a space ship?_ My brain was still having a hard time with that curveball. _There were_ nonhumans _on board. They seemed nice enough, though. Catsuit camel toe woman was Miranda, I think. The big guy's name hadn't been said that I know of. And neither had the doctor that had fixed me with whatever magic medicine they had in the future._ I looked around the room at all the faces, trying to come to terms with the new type of faces. After thinking everything over I decided that they weren't the strangest things to happen to me today. Having my eyeballs burnt and being shot over a hundred years of the future topped the list. _EDI was some kind of computerized assistant?_

"You know, you're very lucky. If the Normandy hadn't been in the exact position that it was you would have either fallen to your death or spliced between the hull." Well, that was a comforting thought. _Old lady needed to work on her bedside manners._

"Commander, I've pulled up her files. Either she has a very good cover story or she's telling the truth. Andrea Doe. No family. Lived in an orphanage since she was one. Disappeared a few days before she turned eighteen. Get this; She was working on her Master's Degree. Apparently she was some kind of 'genius'" I cringed at the word. I had never liked it when people used it to describe me since it made other kids my age either resentful or too scared to talk to me. "She was labeled as a runaway. They think the stress of college at her young age made her leave everything, included her half broken machine, behind." I noted that Miss Camel Toe had a really weird accent… I really needed to stop calling her that in my head. It was rude. Her name was Miranda and her fashion choices were her own. Though I did notice that it was less noticeable now. _Guess she fixed it._

"Wait. What do you mean by 'half broken'? It was in working condition when I left!"

"They said they thought you had a mental breakdown and destroyed it." My brain processed the information. _Transporting me must have overloaded the core._ I made a mental note to jot that down on my notes.

"Well, care to explain what exactly this machine is?" The commander's blue eyes fell back on me and I felt a bit of nausea. I had always thought I would be prepared to exactly explain what it was but now that I had to I was stumbling over the words.

"Ah, w-well, you see. It's s-supposed to just be a t-transporter. Make it easier to travel goods and people. Cut down on cost and such." As I pointed out the design and explained it I began to find my words again. The speech I had been memorizing for the past few years came back to me and soon it was like I was just rehearsing in front of a mirror again.

"Mordin… Is this even possible?" The scaly guy and the commander turn to the frog-like guy. It was a lot easier to tell he was male now that his voice was translated into English. I would have to figure out how this translator worked later.

"Hmm. With enough skill and luck. Yes. Possible." I also wanted to figure out what this 'Omni-tool' thing was. From the few things Mordin had said it seemed like it was pretty useful. I concentrated at the weird bracelet like device on my wrist and an orange screen abruptly popped up. _Did it respond to mental stimuli? Or was this just some weird fluke?_ _I need to play around with this_ … I realized that I was ignoring them again and refocused on the group that was now looking over my blueprints. As soon as I looked away from the orange screen it disappeared.

"And you built this at, what, sixteen?" The commander's eyes were on me again.

"Actually, seventeen, though I have been working on it since I was eleven. It's one of the many reasons I never got adopted. That and I lot of the projects I worked on before exploded… Or caught fire… Or caught fire and then exploded. It's hard to work with only junkyard parts. Though my airsoft gun mods were always on point." I shrugged at my past mistakes. At least this one was kinda a success.

"On point?"

"Yeah, you know. On point. Like, they were perfect."

"We definitely don't use that anymore. We might have to make a list of sayings that aren't used. So what do you think you can add to this crew? You're technically an illegal right now. And we have no room for unproductive civilians." Her face had stopped looking less anger and more professional. Was she offering me a job?

"Uh… I can build stuff? I learn really fast, that should count for something right?" I grabbed a worn notebook from my bag and began flipping through the pages until I found designs for gun modifications. Sure they were for fake guns but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to translate them to work for real guns.

"This is the military right? So I'm sure I can figure out a way to make your guns more efficient." I muttered 'maybe' at the end of that on accident.

"You have two weeks. That's how long it will take to get to our next destination then back to the Citadel. If you can't find something useful to do on the ship then I'm dropping you off next time we get to the Citadel. Well, now that this is sorted out, I have to make sure our other arrival hasn't smuggled anything else on board" She made an exasperated sigh and I watched as she walked out of the room. I turned to look at the big naked bird looking one. That is probably a rude way of describing him. _Names, Andrea. You have to ask for names. Small talk… You were basically trained for this at the orphanage._

"Uh, hey, what's your name? Oh, dude, what happened to your face?" Well, at least it was a good attempt to be courteous. Suddenly Matron Elizabeth's voice popped into my head saying 'you need to be more ladylike!' I ignored it and observed more of his face. Half of it was covered in scabs and patches. It was pretty gross looking. The longer I looked the more I saw to the injury. Burns, lacerations, the works. It must've been a pretty strong hit.

"It's a… hah… Long story. Name's Archangel."

"That… Is the coolest name I've ever heard! Is it like a codename? Do I get a codename? Can it be Blue Lightning? Or, better yet, Black Panther!" A small chuckle from him and I realized that I was being teased. I did the most dramatic frown I could pull off. It just made him laugh more until he grimaced. Apparently it was a pretty fresh wound.

"So what's your real name? And, not to be rude I literally cannot figure out a polite way to say this, what are you two? Cause I think the only thing keeping me from flipping my shit is that you haven't tried killing me."

"Yeah, we got tired of killing off your kind. The real name is Garrus Vakarian. And you apparently have a lot of history to catch up with." I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not about the killing. I had a feeling that he wasn't. But he was right… I had missed a lot in the almost one hundred and seventy years I had been 'gone'. It hit me then; I had been gone for almost two centuries. Everyone I knew was dead. Everything I knew was the past. Aliens were real. Space travel was an actual thing. My lungs felt unbearably tight and blackness crept into the corners of my vision.

I hit the floor like a bag of rocks.


	2. History lesson

Honestly, you can probably skip this chapter. It's just her learning history, etc. so if that's not your cup of tea I apologize.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect

* * *

I woke up with an outstanding headache and a very large bump on the side of my head. I poked at it gently, trying to decide how bad it was, as I sat up. I found myself on the medical cot next to the one I had been previously laid on with the doctor lady hovering nearby.

"Ah, you're awake again. You must warn me next time if you're feeling faint. Your head probably hurts a bit since you hit the cot but it isn't anything to worry about."

"Sorry about that. It just kinda hit me all at once. Almost two centuries… That's a lot of time I have to learn about. When did we start space traveling?" The decision my brain came to was that I shouldn't waste any more time trying to get my bearings. I doubted that there was any way back so I had better start thinking about my future. I started formulating my plan to assimilate into this new world. Step one was learning everything I had missed out on. Step two was to learn at least the basics to all the new technology. Step three was to get a job, though depending on if I impressed the commander that might already be covered.

"Before I go into that, when was the last time you ate? Or slept for that matter?"

"I don't know, a day or two. No time. I need to know what's going on. If I'm going to be stuck in this time then I don't want to seem like I've lived under a rock for the past two hundred years." I was anxious to get everything sorted. Bodily needs could wait. Judging by the look on the doctor's face she didn't like what I had said, though.

"I can't force you to eat. However if you want any information out of me or any of the crew for that matter, you'll have to some food in you. And if you don't think I can get everyone to ignore your questions then you are poorly mistaken." I groaned and she gave me a stern stare.

"I've already wasted so much time, though!" My breath was wasted on trying to convince her, though. Standing up, I begrudgingly said 'fine' under my breath. She sat me back down on the cot before I could take a single step.

"I'll bring you something. You're still a little weak." A frown found my lips. I hated being on bed rest.

While she was gone I played more with the Omni-tool. It seemed I was correct with my assumption that it was connected to my nerves. It was like having another limb but somehow it was a seamless connection. For lack of better words, it felt right, almost like I had had it for my entire life. The screen that popped up was written in English and everything was neatly arranged. _Kinda looks like Windows XP…_ Part of me wondered if it was showing me what I was familiar with. The other half wanted to know what the 'fabrication module' was. If it was what I thought then it was basically a 3D printer. I opened the program right as the doctor came back into the room with a plate of eggs and toast and a glass of apple juice.

"While you eat I'll tell you everything that has happened in the past few hundred years." _Okay. I could work with these terms._ Biting into the toast I waited for her to start talking. As soon as the food hit my mouth my stomach started rumbling. _Guess I was hungry after all._ I attacked the eggs as the doctor began talking about how in 2069 we made the first human settlement on Luna. In 2103 the European space agency made the first settlement on Mars.

Then we discovered the Sol system's mass relay in 2149. Originally it was thought to be Pluto's moon and the game changed. With the help of Prothean ruin's found a year earlier on Mars the scientist were able to reactivate it. A man names Jon Grissom led the first team of explorers through the relay. A dreamy sigh came out of my mouth.

"Oh, what it would have been like to help activate the technology…" A dream that would have never came true, even if I hadn't been shot into the future. A smile graced the older woman's lips before she continued her history lesson.

"Well, after we made it through the relay we began looking for places to make colonies. To defend the territories we began the construction of a military fleet and a space station. This began in 2151 and we placed it in at Arcturus. This is also about this time that biotics were born due to exposure to element zero, though we didn't learn of the potential until 2158.

"So biotics have these crazy super powers?" An amused laugh came out of her and she nodded, telling me if I wanted to know more to ask Miranda or Commander Shepard. More colonies were made in 2152 but these were the first extra-solar ones. And the shit hit the fan in 2157. For several weeks, we fought the Turians, which was Garrus' race. It all started over human explorers trying to activate a dormant mass relay, which apparently was forbidden under galactic law. This answered the question of if Garrus was actually kidding.

"How were we supposed to know that? It's not like anyone told us!" I was a little salty about it and I hadn't even been in existence at the time.

"Yes, that is true. But turians are known to be very… adamant about rules. They are a militaristic society. Add that to their philosophy of 'total war' and it was a very messy situation. They besieged the human colony on Shanxi, and when they surrendered the turians began occupying the world, thinking that we had been defeated. Then a month later the Alliance's Second Fleet caught them by surprised and evicted them from the planet. An actual war was brewing but before it could begin the Citadel Council intervened. Terms of peace were drawn out and the turians had to give heavy reparations to the Alliance."

"Seems like that would cause a lot of tensions between the races."

"It does." She paused momentarily before resuming the lesson. Not a whole lot happened for the next few years. Just more expansion and an assassination attempt on an ambassador. _We sure did know how to make friends._ And then in 2165 we got an embassy in the Citadel, which was a big deal for some reason or another. Honestly, I had only listening halfway at this point. I **really** wanted to mess with the Omni-tool. It was almost like a mental itch. She went on to talk about how batarian and human relations were strained to do to this and that. Biotic training for humans is outsourced to the military. Batarians separate themselves from the council, becoming a rogue state. We fight batarian pirates a few times. Then humans and turians worked together to make the SSV Normandy, which was the frigate that was made before this one.

"What happened to the first one?" Another sad look past through her face when I asked.

"We were ambushed. We lost a lot of good people that day." She fought past the grief though and began talking about how one of the human colonies was attack by the same creatures that had attacked the old Normandy. They were called the geth, a synthetic race that usually resided beyond the Perseus Veil. And this fight was just a precursor of a larger threat.

"So the geth were following the orders of a turian? Whom some massive creature that we barely fought off was controlling? And the relays are actually just a giant trap that lets that will let more of these giant creatures through?" Figures. Of course, I wouldn't be dropped off in a time of relative peace where I could marvel at all the new technology.

"So what are we doing to prepare for this upcoming apocalypse?"

"Well, the council is set on doing nothing. I, however, can't sit back and wait for them to come to us." I hadn't noticed that the commander had entered the room. She sat down on one of the cots.

"I came to check on you. I heard you had fainted." My ears felt hot as a flood of embarrassment came over me.

"I prefer the term 'blacked out'. Sounds much cooler than fainting." When she heard that she laughed and at that moment I decided that if I would probably like her if I wasn't so terrified of her.

"Well if you're all caught up on your history then Yeoman Chambers would like to speak to you. After that, we'll find a place for you on the ship." She stood up and beckoned me to follow her.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you name!" I turned back to the doctor, apologizing at the rudeness. I had spent the past few hours with her without even bothering to ask.

"Doctor Karin Chakwas, at your service." The older woman waved me on and I found myself following behind the Commander.

She led me past the elevator and into a room that had cots. _I suppose this is the living quarters for most of the crew._ In the back, another red headed woman sat at the table. She had a friendly enough smile. One that I immediately recognized. I fought to control my eyes from rolling.

"You're a therapist aren't you." The orphanage started making me go to a therapist when I was ten. They always thought there was something wrong with me because I liked to talk out loud and because I didn't particularly have an interest in being adopted or people in general. I just wanted to build gadgets in peace.

"Hello, Andrea. My name is Kelly Chambers. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand and I took it reluctantly before taking a seat in front of her.

"I want you to tell me about yourself. Do you have any hobbies?"

"I like to build things." I didn't like talking about myself, however. The more questions she asked the more I felt myself clam up. My palms began to sweat and I felt my leg began bouncing with nervous energy. I could feel each wasted second passing by and I tried not to get too snippy with her. I'm sure she was a nice lady. She continued asking the typical questions; did I have any thoughts of wanting to hurt others or myself? How did I deal with everyday problems? What did I think was my biggest flaw? The exchange went on for at least an hour and a lot of willpower went into not looking out the window into the abyss. Finally, the questions stopped and she stood up.

"Thank you for your time, Andrea. If you have any problems please feel free to come talk to me."

"Um… yeah, sure. No problem." I rose so fast that my chair almost fell over. Sitting still for that long made my legs feel like they had pent up energy in them. I needed to walk around. Bad.

"I think we found a place for you to do whatever it is that you do. How do you feel about shuttle bays?" Shepard talked to me as she led me to the elevator. It opened with a low humming noise and she ushered me in before pushing the button to the fifth floor.

"Uh, I can honestly say that I've never slept in one so I guess they're okay? I mean, as long as I have a workstation and some blankets I don't really care." When it opened the first thing I saw a shit ton of crates. Then a decent sized workbench and a small cot, both bolted to the ground. It was a slightly cold and I had a sneaky suspicion that the reason I was put down here was so that they could keep an eye on me and through me out the airlock if I was being unruly. Apparently I had accidentally voiced this opinion out loud because Shepard made a slight scoffing sound and said that if they thought that I was a threat I would have already been shot in the head. She said she never missed when it came to sniping. _Well, that's as subtle as a punch to the face.  
_

"If you want to learn about weapons Jacob is who you should talk to. He's on floor two. Mordin is also on that floor. Miranda, Garrus, and Doctor Chakwas are on floor three. Engineering is on floor four."

"Okay, thanks, Commander." I noticed that my stuff was already sitting on my table and once she left I grabbed my recorder from my bag, talking into it in an attempt to keep my thoughts and the events of the day organized.

Then I began making my plan.

The first thing I would do is talk to Jacob and get a better feel for the technology. Then I would talk to Miranda about biotics, though that might be a little awkward. I'd save that for last. Mordin seemed to be their leading scientist so it would probably be a smart move to get to know him. And if I could get past how scary he looked, maybe even talk to Garrus. I needed more information about basically everything. I sat the recorder back onto the table and went back into the lift.


	3. Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

Sorry if these chapters are going a bit slow! It's going to pick up soon, I promise. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! They mean a lot!

Deception is Deception: I'm glad you like it! I'm still working on finding a good pace for it, so I apologize. Any criticism is welcome

Ulsindhe: Ah, I love Javik. He's such a grump hahaha. But don't worry, there will be conflict! I just wanted to get her settled more or less before throwing her to the wolves

Disclaimer: I don't own anything expect Andrea

Enjoy!

* * *

The next week was hell. Straight hell. It was what I imagined people who didn't study for any of their final exams in college felt like. Information about mass effect drives, space travel, armor, and everything in between was shoved into my gray matter. And, hey, I had made it through with only three mental breakdowns and only threw up once, so that was nice. I tried to keep myself busy so that I wouldn't linger on how nothing was the same.

The most fascinating thing I learned was that the guns shot sand grain sized projectiles out. A single ammunition block could produce thousands of these rounds, so ammo was never a problem. The real issue was in running out of thermal clips, so it was almost counterproductive. If there was anything I could improve while on this ship it was probably going to be how efficient the heat sink could be. I had talked to Jacob on several occasions about this as he showed me how the guns worked. I had decided that he was a pretty nice guy all in all. A little too straight laced for my liking, though. Once, he had me shot some of the guns but after I almost shot myself in the foot he told me I wasn't allowed to fire the guns anymore. If it had to be tested it he would shot it.

That was also a bad idea since my first few experiments caught on fire in his hands. It went a lot better by test five, though.

The second most fascinating thing was Mordin. Just everything about him was amazing. At first, it was hard to understand his fast pace talking but when I finally could I had never been so amazed by a person. Back in my time, there were very few people I had admired and fewer that I actually knew. But Mordin was a fucking **genius**! He was a scientist through and through. And very possibly a mad one. He taught me more in the first week than most of my professors could in a semester. I had never been particularly interested in genetics but he made me want to learn about it. We talked about my machine and helped me with any mods I was trying to make when he had the time. We also taught each other random songs, much to the Commander's dismay. I had taught him the most raunchy and popular songs that I knew.

He also laughed at my science puns, though I had a feeling it was mostly out of pity.

Kasumi had made scaring the shit out of me and other crewmembers a game. Shepard had to talk to her after the fourth complaint.

It took overhearing Shepard teasing Garrus for me to have the courage to talk to him. He was pretty interesting to talk to when he wasn't busy talking to Shepard or in the middle of 'calibrations'. He showed me a few things with the sniper rifles but wouldn't let me actually shot it. Apparently Jacob had warned him.

I avoided Miranda. Even though I wa curious about biotics, she looked like the type that held grudges even over petty shit.

The saddest thing was that pandas were now extinct and that chocolate was up priced almost two hundred percent on any planet except Earth and a few colonies that could support the cocoa trees. Shepard had dropped that bit of information on me and I almost started crying.

By the end of the first week, we had boarded a prison ship and I had managed to make a working prototype for a more efficient thermal clip on the broken SMG that Shepard let me take apart. It finally stopped spontaneous catching fire and now had a thirteen percent decrease in how fast it overheated. It wasn't the best but it was progress. I was sure that I could make more adjustments to it during the next week. A popping noise came from my spine as I stretched in my chair and I took my glasses off, placing them back in their case. I hated the things but they were a necessary evil if I wanted to work without going cross-eyed.

"EDI, how long do you think the Commander will be?" Over the course of the week, EDI had become my second favorite person on this ship. When I had found out that she was an AI I had flipped my shit. Literally. I had been holding a plate of food and had dropped it. I was shown the AI core and it had been magnificent. Joker made it clear that he didn't understand why I was so fascinated by a program. I told him to eat a bag of dicks. Boys wouldn't know beauty if it kicked them in the shins.

"It should be a simple pickup. I estimate that she will be gone for no more than fifteen minutes if all goes according to plan."

"So that means thirty minutes." That was another thing that I had found while aboard; nothing ever went according to plan. Also, Shepard was an awful driver and couldn't dance. That tidbit came from Garrus, though I couldn't say too much since I had never danced before. I was about to get up to go get food when the ship began shaking.

"It would appear you were correct. The Commander is now fighting her way through the prison while the package is running rampant." They still hadn't told me much about this 'package'. All I knew was that it was called Jack. If he was rampaging and in prison then maybe he would be better off incarcerated. The ship rocked a few more times and I decided that going on the elevator wasn't the best plan. I would just sit tight until everything blew over. At least, that what I wanted to do but then my damn curiosity made me hit the button on the elevator. I had found that the third floor had the best view: really it was the only place with large windows. Tremors went through the ship again right as the doors slide open and I ran out, making my way to starboard observation. The distance made it hard to see much and I had to angle myself into an awkward position but eventually, I saw a figure running.

"Damn, that kid moves fast." They looked pretty tiny but that could have been the distance. They had thrown several other blurry figures with what I had assumed to be biotics. And then they stopped before flailing their arms frantically. I waved back, They turned around right as someone was trying to sneak up on them. The sneaking figure fell and the tiny person was approached by three figures. The colors of their armor meant that it was Shepard, Garrus, and Mordin. _I guess that mysterious figure is Jack. He sure is skinny._ He talked to Shepard for a few minutes before finally following them. _I guess they convinced him to join Shepard's little suicide mission to save the world._

I was so engrossed in watching them that I didn't hear the sound of heels walking towards me.

"Why are you standing like that?" I managed not to fall forward. Miranda was standing behind me with her arms crossed.

"Doing yoga, obviously." I knew that I was being an ass. It's just, something about her made me want to be a sarcastic and antagonistic as possible. It was probably the resting bitch face. By the time I looked back out the window the Shepard's group was gone.

"If you're so curious why don't you just find out for yourself?" She had a point; the only way to know was to go and see them. I straightened back out and followed her to the elevator. The ride up was nothing but awkward silence. _How in the world did she get in that outfit? How does she even fight in it?_ Orange light from the Normandy's hologram flooded into the space when the door slid open.

As we walked towards what I called the 'war room' my hands fiddled with the modified heat sink. Anxiety was clawing at my stomach and my mind was filled with 'what ifs'. What if she didn't think it was good enough? What if it stopped working and was unreliable? Until I could have a rate of one hundred percent improvement I knew I wouldn't be happy with it.

Kelly said I had a fear of failure and a maladaptive perfectionism. I told her that I just don't like to half-ass any of my inventions.

By the time, we had reached the briefing room I had decided that the mod wasn't good enough. I would meet this Jack guy later. I gave Mordin a brief hello as he cleaned his gun before returning back to my workspace in the belly of the ship.

Sparks flew as I soldered the last wire on the thermal clip and heavy bass pounded through my headphones. I didn't have service on my phone and had to retrofit it to be able to charge through the Normandy but the music that I had 'legally' downloaded still worked. Music now days just wasn't the same; it lacked the rawness that I was used to. I was so immersed in my own little world that I almost fell out of my seat when a bowl of food was sat down on my table.

"Commander! Sorry, I didn't hear you come down!" I pulled my headphones out so fast that one of them caught on an earring. _DAMN THAT HURT!_ My finger came back with no blood, so that was a plus.

"The doctor is worried. No one has seen you in almost seventy-two hours. Figured you haven't eaten." She pushed the plate towards me again. It looked good but my appetite was long gone.

"I'm fine Commander. Thanks, though." The red scars contorted when she frown.

"I will shove this food down your throat." I went to protest. I had just finished the mod and my body was aching for sleep but the look in her eyes said that it wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

"Fine, fine!" If eating would allow me to finally sleep then I would. I shoveled the food into my mouth. _Gross… Grits._ I pushed the bowl back towards her when it was empty.

"When was the last time you showered or slept?" _Ugh. Dammit, she's prying._

"I don't know, a few days ago? I was about to lay down now that this is as good as I can get it currently." I already knew what she was going to say when I saw her eyebrows furrow. My eyes were rolling before I could even stop them.

"You know what I'm going to say. I'll be honest with you. We can't be babysitting you. If you don't have the ability to take care of yourself then I can't let you stay on this ship. It'll be safer for you on the Citadel anyways." She had a point. I **knew** she had a point. This mission was suicide for someone like me who had no fighting skills, but some rebellious part of me wanted to stay. It was the same part that insisted that I started college so early and said 'hey, I should dye my hair green'. _Must be those teenage hormones that everyone talks about._ The taste of blood was the only thing that made me realize that had bitten the inside of my cheek.

"I want to stay no matter the cost. It's not every day that I have unlimited resources for all of my mad schemes. I'm done with this mod. It should reduce how fast the SMGs overheat by twenty-eight percent. With enough time, it could be better. I need more Iridium, though." Not as done as I wanted it to be but whatever.

"You would risk your life… for science."

"I'm a rebel for science, Commander. I just can't help it. Plus, have you **seen** Mordin's lab? It's gorgeous! I didn't think I would ever see anything like it in my life, yet here we are. And Garrus may be funky looking but he's really cool! Though he does talk about 'calibrations' a lot." The word diarrhea was apparently back. Shepard gave me an amused look.

"Fine. You want to stay. How well can you fight?"

"Not at all. As the kids say, YOLO! Or I think that's what they said."

"… What? You know what, never mind. You start basic hand-to-hand combat and gun safety tomorrow. I should go. Take a shower. You reek." I waited for her to leave before sniffing at my shirt. Unfortunately, she was not incorrect about my smell. It was a weird mixture of soldering flux and sweat. I grabbed a clean shirt and sweatpants, pouting the entire time. I didn't do physical exercise. And I was such a bad shot that the other kids stopped asking me to go paintballing with them. This could only lead to disaster.

Sometimes I hated that I was almost always right.

The gun class went well enough. Don't point your gun at people unless you were trying to kill them. Always assume a gun in loaded. Don't point it at yourself. Simple things like that. I even got to shoot at some targets that Jacob had set up in the cargo hold. Sure, I didn't hit any of them but it was still fun.

I knew hand-to-hand was going to be awful as soon as it began.

It started with Shepard throwing me some padded gloves before covering her own hands. It got worse when Garrus decided that he needed to be here to see Shepard beat the tar out of me.

"Whoa, we're just going to go straight for it?"

"I need to know what level you're at." She said it like fighting was something I should just know.

"I'm level zero! I'm a squishy noob!"

"A what? Never mind, just come at me. Punch me as hard as you can." She raised her arms in a defense manner and I threw a punch as hard as I could. She easily blocked it before giving me a left hook right in the gut.

"Oh god, what the fuck! I told you, I'm squishy!" I clutched at where she had connected. _There's definitely going to be a bruise there._

"The enemy won't give you a break, Andrea. And Shepard didn't punch you that hard. You have a good arm, but leave yourself wide open."

"Well, I don't know how to fight, Garrus! Your commentary is not helpful! In all the almost eighteen years of my life, I've never been in a fight!" Somehow, I straightened myself back out. She beckoned me to put my arms up and I did so hesitantly. I did **not** want to be punched again by her. But instead of swinging at me she repositioned my legs then my arms.

"This is the position you should start off in. Keep your feet staggered and placed slightly wider than the hips. Keep your weight distributed about fifty-fifty between both feet. And stop standing flatfooted. It will make your movement sluggish." I followed all her instructions. She went on to say that I wanted a small amount of tension in my non-existent abs. A hit to a relaxed stomach hurt like hell, as I had already learned. She positioned my arms so that my elbows were close but not touching my ribs then tilted my head down.

" Remember, chin down and hands up. When your opponent attacks don't close your eyes. You have to be able to see where they're trying to hit. I'm going to come at you now."

When Shepard attacked she didn't hesitate, I'll give her that.

"Fuck! Right in the fucking ribs!" Those damn gloves did literally nothing to cushion the punches. _Are her hands made of metal or something?!_ I felt sick.

"Hands up. And try to either block or dodge." _Easy for her to say._ I brought my hands up anyways and focused on her swing. I managed to dodge her right hook only to get punched with her left.

"Am I being hazed? Cause I feel like I'm being hazed. Beating up a minor is frowned on, you know?" I laid down on the floor to soak in my misery.

"Well, technically you're two hundred."

"One hundred and eighty-six. Beating up the elderly is also frowned upon." She smiled as she helped me back up.

"You're the one that insists on staying on the ship. And if you can make jokes, you can stand up." She went into the starting stance and told me to attack again. I wouldn't be fooled a third time into getting punched in the gut. I took a page out of her book, feinting left then swinging with my right fist. At the last second, she moved out of the way and I quickly brought it back to my body. I tried to avoid her punches. And failed.

She corrected my stance again, told me how to make a fist that wouldn't make my thumb break. Sweat was pouring down my neck and I was positive one of my ribs was broken. After my seventh attempt, I manage to land a blow.

"Now you're getting it!"

"Yeah, it only took getting the shit beat out of me and a broken rib."

"You're rib's not broken so stop being a baby. If Garrus can take a rocket to the face you can take a few punches."

"Holy shit, that's what happened? I just assumed it was simply how you looked!"

"Oh ha ha. Did Shepard tell you to say that? Don't let her lie to you, she loves my good looks." Garrus' tone said 'teasing' but Shepard's face said 'truth'. The scars that had been slowly healing over the past few weeks became red and her ears almost blended in with her hair but if Garrus noticed he didn't say anything.

"That's enough for today. Tomorrow: same time. The day after that, we'll reach the Citadel. We're just getting a few supplies so we won't be there very long. Make a list of the things you need and I'll try to get them."

"Okay dokey pokey, I mean… Yes ma'am, Commander. I'll have it done by the end of the day." I was ready to take a shower, eat, and then pass the fuck out. I had never been this tired or hungry, even after going days without either sleep or food. The shower eased the pain, but already there were red spots cropping up on my stomach and ribs and my gut decided that it was going to empty its contents. _At least she stayed away from my moneymaker..._ I brushed my teeth and decided that I should still probably eat something. The kitchen area was pleasantly empty and I quickly made my food before retreating back to my 'room'. I managed to eat the whole sandwich before I even made it back to the elevator and as soon as I had the covers pulled over me I passed out.


	4. So Shiny! And Sparkly!

Thanks for all of the follows and favorites!

Coolprix: I'm glad you're enjoying it! To be honest I wasn't expecting this story to have so much positive feedback since I have a bad love of filler haha _

Butters101: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you like Andrea. When I started making her I wanted an OC that had to actually learn what's been going on. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter :D

Dekuton: Thank you for the correction! I'm always open for feedback. I'll definitely try not to get them mixed up again, so thank you again! I'm glad you're loving the story! :3

Well, here's chapter four! This will be the last 'filler' chapter for a while since we'll be heading to the actual plot as of next chapter.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

The night before we made it to the Citadel was the first day I met Jack. Well, I guess it was technically what we considered 'night'. The light were dimmed and only the night owls were still awake; Garrus was finishing up on some of his calibrations and Kasumi was reading one of her harlequin novels that she liked to pretend that she didn't own. Mordin would be working away in his lab, rarely needing to sleep. I had learned that salarians only needed about an hour of sleep a day due to their high metabolisms. I usually left them alone and hung out in the mess hall, snacking and playing games on my Omni-tool or sketching drifts of new inventions.

And, on the rare occasion, Shepard herself would come down from her quarters. She would often make a beeline to the battery with a look on her face that I had often seen on the orphanage kids when they had nightmares. It was worn down and when I saw her I would make her a cup of whatever calming tea I found shoved in the back of the kitchen drawers. I figured that if she wanted to tell me what was on her mind then she would.

So when I heard the elevator door swish open I figured it was just another night of insomnia for the commander.

"Hey Commander, want anything? I just got done making this sandwich. If you want I can make you one. Or I can brew you some tea, like usual." I was already in the process of fishing out a packet when I looked over my shoulder at her. It took all of my self-control not to jump.

"Who the fuck are you?" The lady in my sights had a shaved head and tattoos covering almost every visible part of her body.

"Who the fuck's asking?" Her arms crossed over her barely covered chest, an annoyed glare on her face.

"I asked first."

"And I asked second." Well, she had me there. Plus she was making a face that said that she could easily tear my arm off and beat me with it.

"I'm going to be honest… You have me in a box here. I'm Andrea, the troll who lives in the belly of the ship. I make mods for the weapons. So… Yeah." I coughed awkwardly at the end of my introduction. I **really** wanted to go back to my workspace, especially since she was still giving me a crazed look.

"Wait a second, you're that bitch who was taunting me in the window!" I barely managed to duck behind the counter when she threw something at me. And while I still didn't know a lot, I knew what biotics looked like now.

"I don't taunt people! I don't even know you, you crazy bitch!" I ran to the other side of the kitchen island when she jumped over it and mental gauged how fast I could run versus her biotics all while using the process of elimination to figure out who the fuck this woman was.

"Don't give me that bullshit! You're on a Cerberus ship! How could you not know who I am?" She was somehow being quiet enough to not alert someone. If I wasn't so terrified I would be slightly more impressed. We had made a full circle around the island at this point and I now had all the clues I needed to identify her. _This must be Jack. I was definitely wrong about a lot…_ _All I wanted was a sandwich… That's all I wanted…_ My poor food was just lying pathetically on the floor.

"Are you Jack? 'Cause you look the exact opposite of how I thought you would." I ducked again right as she threw the knife I had used.

"Who else would I fucking be?" She lunged at me again and I slipped on my fallen food. _So this is how I die. Next to my food. It's surprisingly fitting. Maybe if I stop moving she'll lose interest, like a . And when that fails I can kick her in the shins I guess._

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Also, do you want ants? Because that's how you get ants!" She was almost on top of me by now and I pointed at the sandwich.

"What's wrong with me is that the organization that I hate found me and then someone in said organization fucking **waved** at me!"

"I thought you were waving, you psychopath! Who the fuck just attacks someone unprovoked?" I flinched when her fist began glowing blue.

"And here I thought the Cerberus cheerleader was the worse operative on this ship."

"I'm no fighter! Can't you tell by my squishiness! I just make stuff, like a Frankenstein. But with less dead bodies… And less bringing back the dead. Actually, that was a terrible analogy. But you get my point! I can barely fight, ask Shepard! She's been trying to teach me how to fight and it's awful."

"Well, if you're not Cerberus and you're not a fighter, then how the hell did you end up on this ship?" She seemed to have calmed down enough for me to shimmy away from her.

"You probably won't believe me, but I got here by time travel. Well, technically it was more like I accidently made a machine that more or less folded the fabric of space and time, but that goes into theories that I'm too hungry to go into right now." I peered back at my fallen hero before looking at here.

"And let's say I believed this shitty story of yours. Why would you want to work for this fucking organization?"

"Have you **seen** the equipment on this ship? Almost anything I could ever ask for is here! And if it's not then I can just request it and bam! It's there! The future is fucking astonishing, man! Like, these Omni-tools are the best. And EDI is amazing! An actual A.I.? That shit was just a sci-fi dream back in my day!" _Holy shit, did I just say 'back in my day'? What am I, eighty?_ There was still a look of suspicion on her face, but at least she was no longer attacking me. I slowly picked the shattered pieces of my sandwich up. Once it was cleaned I slowly backed away from her.

"Really? That's your reason? Do you know what Cerberus does to people?"

"Nope." A look of disgust flashed across her face.

"Well, maybe you should ask your cheerleader friend." She grabbed a pudding cup out of the fridge before storming off towards the elevator.

"Dammit." She came back, looking angry than before, fishing a spoon out of the drawer before huffing back off.

"Well. That happened." As I remade a sandwich I muttered under my breath. My encounter with the biotic had left me mentally worn out and honestly worried about my own safety. I went back to my area of the ship and tossed myself onto the bed once I was done eating.

And hoped that tomorrow would be better.

The Citadel sparkled as it came into view and I immediately knew that I wanted to explore it. I begged and whined and pouted until finally Shepard gave in. I was almost bouncing with eagerness to see all the new things. I wanted to see everything that was basically the capital of space had to offer. Plus Joker had let it slip that flying cars were now a thing and dammit was I determined to fly one. Even though my license was technically expired. _Well, here's to hoping that I won't get pulled over. Cause I also don't have insurance. Do they even have insurance nowadays?_

"You can go, but only if you find at least one person to go with you. If you get lost and don't make it back to the ship on time then I will leave you behind." I had a feeling she wasn't joking. Nodding my response to her I darted off to find someone to drag into my adventure. I slowed down as I approached Mordin's lab. In my head, I was rehearsing how I would ask him to go with me. I didn't want it to sound like I was asking him to my babysitter, even though that's what he would be, and it would be weird if it sounded like I was asking him on a date. _Do salarians even go on dates? A question for another time I suppose._ My palms were getting insanely sweating and my heart was beating so fast that it physically hurt.

"Andrea. Problem?" He barely looked up from his datapad, but that was nothing new.

"Ah, no, no! I, uh, just had a quick question." I rocked nervously on my heels when his large eyes came into contact with mine.

"But I can see you're busy, so I'll leave you alone now!" Fuck, I sucked at asking people for stuff.

"Andrea, I'm here if you need me. Not too busy at the moment to talk." He went back to the pad but I had an internal debate on if I should ask him to escort me or just not go.

"Ah, well… I was just wondering if you would perhaps be my chaperone to the Citadel? But as I said, you look busy! So just don't worry about it, I'll ask someone else!" Some of the words got mushed together and my face felt like it was on fire. I wiped my hands on my pants and avoided all eye contact with him before turning to leave. Maybe I could ask Jacob. He would probably say yes and was less likely to make me feel like a bumbling mess since I didn't idolize him like I did Mordin.

"Very well. We will head out as soon as I've read through this mail. Should have plenty of time. Wanted to head to Sardonis Applications."

When I heard him say yes I got so excited that I threw up in my mouth. I swallowed it back, making a barely contained face of disgust.

"Okay dokey! I'll meet you at the airlock!" I barely saw him nod as I ran out of the room. Shepard was standing by the airlock with Garrus and Jack. _Ah, shit._ We hadn't exactly left on friendly terms. I skidded to stop and darted behind the wall. I didn't know how to deal with this woman. Though she did appear to be slightly calmer near Shepard. _She probably wouldn't attack me with the Commander near by. Probably._ Shepard hadn't given me any money yet, so I didn't have much of a choice in avoiding the biotic.

"Hey, Commander. I convinced Mordin to be my chaperone. So… when are we leaving?"

"Wait, you have a fucking chaperone? How old are you?" Apparently Jack found it hilarious that I needed a babysitter.

"To be honest, I don't actually know anymore. I mean, before this whole fiasco I was a week away from eighteen. Now I don't even know what day it is, let alone what the month is."

"It's June."

"Welp, I guess I'm still seventeen if we're not counting my missing years."

"You're seriously that young? Why are you even on this ship?"

"Well, as I said before, the equipment. And the Commander is pretty cool." Luckily I didn't have to continue explaining myself. I didn't notice Mordin approaching until Shepard handed a credit chit to him.

"The Illusive Man has put her on the payroll for now. There's four thousand on there until the end of the month. Make sure she doesn't spend all of it."

"Hey, I'm right here! I won't spend all of it, promise!" I mean I probably would, to be honest. I was dreadful with money, but she didn't need to know that.

"Yes, but you're still a minor."

"Ageist."

"What? Never mind. You're underage and you don't get to hold onto the chit. End of the discussion." My lip quivered but she ignored it. _Damn, I was really hoping that would work._

"Well, Doctor, I guess we should head out. Do you think you could continue explaining the dextro-amino acids while we're out and about?" It was a fascinating subject to me. I had figured that the different races would have different DNA structures and chromosomes and such but I had never expected a completely new set of amino acids to crop up. Though, with the infinite universe theory anything was possible. He began his lecture as we walked through the dry dock. _Space dock? I think dry docks are only for actual ships and not space ships._ I decided to put a pin in that thought until a later time.

"And now I should go." She always ran off as fast when we commenced in our 'science bullshit' as she called it. After the chit had been passed on she went to the airlock, preparing to yell at whoever it was that needed to be put in their place.

"As you know, most amino acids have NH2 and COOH. Usually, H2NCHRCOOH is what people are referring to when talking about 'amino acids'. Important, yes, but not the only amino acids. What's important is the amino acids that have both amine and carboxylic acid groups attached to the alpha carbon atom." So far I had already learned most of this in biochemistry, but I knew better than to interrupt his train of thought. The elevator doors slide open and we stepped into the metal box. I was only slightly disappointed that we didn't get into the flying cab.

"These ones include twenty-three proteinogenic amino acids. Most amino acids are L-stereoisomers, or left-handed. We started to refer to them as levo-amino acids after the salarians discovered the dextro-amino acids that the quarians and turians had."

"So dextro means right handed?" _I swear to whatever god there is that if the only difference between the amino acids is how they turn I will be so pissed off._

"Precisely. The dextro structure rotates in the opposite direction compared to the levo. Instead of sugars being dextrorotatory they are levorotatory." _Okay, alright, fine. Whatever. I don't actually know what I expected._ The metal door opened and we approached a checkpoint of some sort.

"So how does that cause allergic reactions? Also, why is security so tight?"

"Safety measures put in place after Saron's attack. The reaction is caused by the inability for proteins to bind properly and for the substance to be properly digested. Reactions vary from person to person. Could just pass through. Or could cause anaphylactic shock."

"Like how some people have alcohol intolerance? Is it more like they have the inability to produce the enzyme needed to digest that protein? Or is it more like Celiac disease and the immune system attacks the substance?" We stepped through what I could only assume to be a bioscanner.

"Both. Body doesn't make correct enzymes to digest it, so it attacks instead."

"Excuse me miss. There seems to be a problem with the scanner. It says that you're one hundred and eighty-six. Which is clearly incorrect. First, it said that Commander Shepard is dead, now it's saying we have a two-hundred-year-old human." The turian guarding the door looked at his console with confusion and typed a few things.

"You're going to have to talk to Officer Bailey. This one's out of my control. He's through this door and to the right. Can't miss him." _Great… And here I was hoping to not be put in the crazy bin. There's no way that he's going to believe me._ We walked through the door and immediately saw the officer. _He wasn't kidding when he said I couldn't miss him. Doesn't seem like a very strategic location._ He was the epitome of an officer though with his cropped hair and a tough looking face.

"Commander Shepard already told me about you. Used her spectre status to fast-track your paperwork, so you lucked out. Just need you to sign a few things." He handed a datapad to me and I skimmed over the words on the screen. It was just basic things like my birthday and background. I signed it with my finger and handed it back before turning back to the doctor to continue our discussion.

"So, the only way to reverse the symptoms is to suppress the immune system like what we used to do for severe allergic reactions. What about interspecies relationships? Isn't that pretty dangerous?" As we talked he led me down a few stairs. A bright sign flashed with 'Zakera Ward- Level 26'. _What about the other twenty-five levels?_

"Yes, they can be very dangerous if correct precautions not put in place. Swallowing body fluids can be especially dangerous between Levo and Dextro couples. Drell skin known to cause hallucinations upon oral contact. Also, can cause rashes. Quarian immune system too weak. Would recommend antiseptics."

"Whoa, whoa, back the gravy train up! There's a species that can make people high with their skin? And why would quarians need antiseptics?"

"Yes. Drell. Mild toxin created on skin. Strong enough to use in drinks. Weak enough not to kill. Quarian immune system weak from years of living in sterile environment. Dangerously weak." I didn't know how to feel about drinking someone's bodily fluids for fun. _Think I'll just avoid that if I make it to twenty-one. Actually, I wonder what the drinking age even is. I've always heard that it's fun but why would you want to lose motor control and cognitive thinking like that?_

"What species is that?" A small round creature in a spacesuit walked by followed by a humanoid with blue skin.

"Volus and asari. Volus are adept businessmen. Haven't been invited to join the council, though. Very sore spot for them. Asari are a very interesting race. Will explain later. Not enough time . Shop is good for software. Shop owner also very friendly. Thought you would like it." The salarian standing behind the counter gave us a wide smile as we walked in.

"Welcome! How may I help you?"

"Just looking around."

"Of course! You can browse through the inventory and make purchases at the kiosk." _What's the point of a shopkeeper if everything is electronic?_ Apparently I said that out loud.

"We're here to answer any and all questions about the products, of course!" _Yeah, I guess that makes sense._ I made my way to the kiosk and began scrolling through the items, reading each description. Most of the items were too expensive for me to purchase at the moment. _Maybe if I started selling shit that I make I can make some extra money. But where could I sell things? Online? EDI could probably help me with that._ There were a few little items that I could buy. And then I saw it. A combat drone program for Omni-tools. Sure, you had to install it yourself unless you wanted a service fee but it would be so worth it. It was half of my money but I **really** wanted it. _Okay, I'll go buy my necessities then come back if I have the money._

My body apparently agreed to this thought because as soon as we left I was hit with intense pain in my abdomen and I felt like I was leaking. _Nooo, no, no, no, NO. Now? Right now body? Really?_ I had figured that it would happen at some point but usually, my period happened in the middle of the night. I was convinced that it was doing this out of spite.

"Hey Doc, is there a bathroom near by?" He gave me an odd look but pointed me towards one that was tucked between a few shops. A guy was advertising about ramen as a briskly walked by. _Is ramen a delicacy now? Well, hopefully, it's the genuine ramen and not instant._ The door closed behind me and I shoved toilet paper as a placeholder until I could get pads or tampons. Luckily there was only a small spot.

"Wait, do they still even have those nowadays? Shit. I don't want to ask Mordin. That would be so fucking awkward. And I have no clue where Shepard is." I groaned. There was no way I could straight out ask Mordin about it. I stepped back into the main area. _Maybe I can sneakily scout out a shop that sells them._

"Andrea. Flushed. Cramps. Hm. Sick? Will have to run test so other shipmates don't get sick."

"I'm not sick. Fuck, this is awkward. Is there a shop that sells human necessities?" My ears were hella hot. He tilted his head before a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Ah, yes. Human females have menstrual cycles. Very inconvenient in my opinion." On a list of things I didn't want to talk about in public, this was number three. He led me to the flying cab or rapid transit. Whatever it was called, I wanted one. Even though I had nowhere to drive it. _Gimme._ We climbed into the car and it took off smoothly after he punched in the location. Being in the air gave a new perspective on the Citadel. From space, it looked vaguely like a flower that was about to bloom. From inside the Citadel, everything was so clustered that it looked like a beehive. When I pointed this out Mordin agreed.

"And many queens are competing to be leader." As we flew through the air I spotted a few new races and as I pointed them out Mordin explained who they were. There were keepers, though not much was known about them and then there were krogan. I had thought Garrus was a big dude but he paled in comparison to these guys.

"How are they supporting themselves?" I pointed to the thin, pink, jellyfish looking ones.

"Hanar. Use of contra-gravitic levitation packs allow it. Same technology for the rapid transport, just on smaller scale." So many things I wanted to take apart, so little time. If I could get my hands on one of those packs I could probably make a hover board, which would be pretty fucking sweet.

"So, where can I get one of these packs?"

"Omega. Probably. Hard to come by for some reason." The car gently set itself down once we reached level 23 and the doctor led me to a small store.

"Will wait out here." He handed me the chit before leaning against the wall.

A woman was behind the counter and she gave me a peppy hello before pointing to where the kiosk was. I went through the inventory, adding items to the cart. Chocolate was in stock but was almost a thousand credits so I sadly passed over it. _At least soap and tampons aren't ridiculously priced._ There was only so much regulation issued soap I could take. It literally smelled like nothing. I bought more deodorant, conditioner, toothpaste and some pads out of caution. It was unknown when the next time we would be at the Citadel and running out of these small things would be the worse. At least I wouldn't have to buy shampoo anytime soon. The damn container was almost full but my conditioner was two-thirds of the way empty. I was down to a little over a thousand credits now. _Guess I'm not getting that drone._ I glowered slightly as I left the store. I had everything except a few tampons sent to the ship. Those I shoved into my pockets. By the time I was done it had been at least 10 minutes and Mordin was still leaning against the wall.

"Did you really wait this whole time?"

"No. Went and ran a few errands. Ready?" The faux daylight was fading, a sign that there was but a few hours before we left to our next destination.

"Yeah. Just let me run to the bathroom real fast." He nodded and waited until I came back out. The ride back to the Normandy was filled with more explanations of the races that resided within Citadel space. Krogans had redundant organs and Batarians were typically avoided since the ones that were out in space typically were pirates and slavers or rogues. Their government forbad citizens to leave their planet. They had chosen to isolate themselves after several disagreements with the council and humans. The large race of the Elcor seemed to be the doctor's least favorite.

"Too slow getting point across." Was all he said about the subject. The elevator came to a stop and we stepped out into the dock and into the ship. It was oddly quiet and the lights were deemed. _Surely everyone hasn't gone to sleep already. Maybe they're still out and about._

"Hungry?"

"I could eat something. Haven't eaten since breakfast." The swishing of the elevator opening seemed amplified in the silence and my voice echoed. "Yo, doc, where is everyone?"

"Unsure." The ride down to the mess was filled with metaphysics and his work with curing the plague at his last lab.

"You know, this is how most horror films start. Eerily empty ship with the lights dimmed. Seriously, where is everyone?" The doors opened to the mess hall and I could swear I heard some scuttling around. I squinted into the darkness. It was almost pitch black and I felt my heart hammering in my chest. I didn't like to admit it but I hated when it was dark like this. It made me feel more high strung than I already was.

"Surprise!" and "Happy birthday" rang through the mess hall. A small squeak came out of me on accident and my eyes burnt at the sudden brightness. I leaned my head against the wall as I concentrated on my breathing. Someone patted my head as I calmed myself down.

"Sorry. We didn't mean to actually scare you. The report said it was your eighteenth birthday next week so I thought it would be a nice surprise." Kelly's voice was right next to my ear. _She must be the one petting me._

"I'm fine, all good. I just wasn't expecting it. I don't deal with surprises very well." I ran a hand through my hair and took a few more deep breaths.

"Well, then you won't like my next surprise." Shepard handed me a package that was deceptively heavy. I opened it to find a set of armor.

"Next mission I want you to go so you can get some real life combat training."

"Oh, please no. I have the bravery of a chicken nugget and can barely shoot a gun still." I had been getting better but I would probably shoot someone on accident and I wasn't sure how I felt about killing someone. Yeah, they were criminals but did they really need to die?

"Well according to Jacob you've started actually shooting the targets." Garrus and Jacob handed me their presents: an M-6 Carnifex and the M-27 Scimitar. The only guns I could remotely shot. Probably because I didn't really need to aim a shotgun.

"Saw you wanted this." Mordin handed me a small package labeled 'Sardonis Applications'. Here was a gift I could get behind. The drone programing came in an itty-bitty chip that would attach to my Omni-tool and I wanted to start programming it immediately. _It'll have to wait though because there's some mother fucking cake and I need some._ It may have been a simple sheet cake and had no candles but the fact that they even took the time to have a party for me was pretty incredible. _I need to learn when all of their birthdays are so I can get them gifts._

"Thanks, everyone. I was really not expecting any of this." The grin on my face couldn't be suppressed, even with the looming thought of having to do actual combat. My drone would be in ready by then. Hopefully.

"Well, you're a member of this ship now. Good morale means good teamwork." Miranda always knew what to say to make a girl feel special. I looked her straight in the eyes, picked up my slice of cake with my bare hands, and bit into it without using a utensil. She rolled her eyes and I could have sworn she said 'so immature' under her breath. Soon we all went our separate way and I found myself lying in bed, toying with the new chip.

Despite my body trying to kill me, and the whole "You're going out into the field", today was a pretty damn good day.


	5. I'd rather not

Ah, chapter five. Here's to hoping it's not garbage :D I'm actually not the biggest fan of writing battle scenes but the only way to get better is to practice!

I don't own Mass Effect! Just Andrea

Coolprix: I'm personally very excited about where their friendship is going. Since I started it I've had it planned out, so hopefully you'll still like it by the end!

FlowerMaiden05: I'm glad! Though I'm sure he didn't appreciate it haha! The more I write humor the more I enjoy, so I'm sure you'll see more!

Butters101: Thank you for telling me that last chapter! For some reason my word program has been acting a little wonky. Hopefully it won't happen again!

Thanks for all of the follows!

* * *

"Andrea, what in the world are you doing?" The sound of sizzling oil came from my pan as I turned to face Garrus.

"I'm cooking. What does it look like?" Light flickered from a tea candle and I carefully held my tongs between my thumb and forefinger.

"That doesn't seem like a very effective way to cook." As soon as my hamburger patties were cooked I placed them on little buns.

"Well, this is how we used to cook in the past." I cleaned the oil of my miniature skillet and somehow managed to keep my face straight. My tiny kitchen was one of my favorite possessions. _It was just so damn cute!_

"I'm finding that a bit hard to believe." It was becoming increasingly hard to not laugh. But I could tell that there was a bit of him falling for my prank.

"What, are you calling me a liar?" Using tweezers I placed a teeny slice of cheese on the patties. The entire cheeseburger was no bigger than my thumbnail.

"Well, no, it just doesn't seem very likely."

"Yes, the past was pretty awful. It would take us hours just to make a single meal. It's why I'm so good at not eating for a few days." I held the hamburger and gingerly took a bite out of it with my front teeth.

"You're an awful liar. You should play cards with us sometime."

"She's not lying, Garrus. That's how we used to cook." We both looked at Shepard as she sat down in the chair across from me. She gave me a sly wink.

"Commander! When'd you get here?" If she helped me pull off this impromptu prank then I would have to share my stash of chocolate with her.

"Not too long ago. I just came down to remind everyone that we're going to be doing hand to hand drills in a few minutes, so be ready. From here on out you won't be sparring with me anymore, by the way. We reach Korlus in 15 days, so consider this boot camp."

"I'm guessing there's no chance that I'll be taking on Kelly, huh?" Out of everyone on the ship, she's probably the least likely to mop the floor with my ass. She chuckled and responded in the negative.

"You'll find out who you're paired with soon." She grabbed my remaining mini burger and popped it in her mouth as she left.

"So you guys seriously used to eat like that?" He watched as I packed the kitchenware back into its case.

"Yep. It's amazing to me how much technology has changed. It's the little things, you know?" My spine popped a few times as I stood up and I put my glasses into their case.

"I'm still not inclined to believe you." We headed towards the elevator and while it descended we shared jokes. Honestly, it was the only thing we could truly bond over. He still terrified me, though I tried to keep an open mind. Logically I knew that he was a cool guy yet some instinct deeply seated in my brain made me wary of tall people and damn was he tall and scary looking. Or maybe it was just the fact that he could hit a can from a hundred yards away. Regardless, I felt like we were becoming friends, despite how awkward I was around him for the first few weeks.

Unlike Jack. We were still not on friendly terms.

"Hey, Garrus."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever tried eating a clock?"

"What? No! Why would someone try eating a clock?"

"Well, it's not recommended, since it's very time-consuming." He groaned at my pun and the doors slid open. Going behind a screen that created walls for my 'room', I gently placed my kitchen set onto my workspace then joined Shepard in the middle of the bay. A few of the other crewmen were waiting in clusters while the Commander stood dead in the middle, arms behind her back. I ended up gravitating towards Mordin once I spotted him and he gave me a friendly smile.

"Mordin! Why can't you trust atoms?"

"Hm. Joke? Very well. Why?"

"Because they make everything up!" I heard Garrus' groan all the way from the front. It never ceased to amaze me how insanely good his hearing was. Mordin made a small chuckle at the pun though and that was all that mattered. As the rest of the training group trickled in Shepard came around with a helmet.

"This will determine who you're training with." That was all she said when she made it to me. I reached in and grabbed one. F. _I wonder who my partner will be_. As the last of the letters were drawn we were organized into a line and I found myself standing next to Jacob.

"Ah, sugar honey iced tea." I heard him chuckle and he patted me on the back.

"Don't worry, I won't beat you that badly."

"That is not a comforting thought, Jacob."

"Hey, at least you're not with Jack." He did have a point about that. She would've probably killed me and made it look like an accident. Somehow the only person who could take her was her partner. Shepard gave her a quick nod before sorting stragglers. Poor Gabby was sparring Miranda and some dark part of my mind was glad that it wasn't me fighting her.

"These will be your partners for the next two days. Then we'll redraw. This will continue until we reach Korlus. Start with basic grappling drills then move to hand to hand sparring when I say." I groaned inwardly. Grappling drills were my least favorite. Once we were spread out I mentally prepared to get choked out.

By the time we got to Korlus I was finally beginning to get the hang of hand to hand combat. I was almost willing to say I was better at it than using an actual gun. Sure, I still got beat the fuck up but at least I could get the upper hand more often than not. Well, so long as I wasn't going against Shepard… Or Garrus… Or Jacob. Miranda was a struggle too. But everyone else I could stand on a good footing. Kasumi was ridiculously slippery though, like a damn otter. And somehow luck had been with me as I had yet to spar with Jack.

But even with the training, I felt nervous to the point of being sick.

"Commander, I still don't think this is a good idea. I'm a coward, not a fighter!" I was standing in my full armor and had the sudden need to pee.

"You'll be fine." She strapped her sniper rifle across her back and began inspecting my armor, correcting anything that I had put on wrong. _I guess this is it._ I followed Garrus and the Commander into the Kodiak and strapped myself in. When I noticed my hands shaking I clinched them as tightly as I could.

The ride down was quiet and I could see broken buildings through the front window.

"Commander, it's looking a lot like fuck this."

"We have to do the mission. You'll be fine."

"Right." I didn't even try to hide my disbelief and that one word came out sharper than I was expecting. As the Kodiak lowered itself to the ground I unbuckled myself and readied my pistol. I mentally recalled everything that I had been taught over the past few months; safety off, don't point at friendlies, keep finger pad in the middle of the trigger. _And don't forget to breathe._ We ducked behind a stone barrier while Shepard went over the dossier and a voice rang from what I could only assume to be loudspeakers. _Kill or be killed, huh?_

"Commander, remind me again why I'm here."

"Honestly, the order came from the Illusive Man. He wanted to test your abilities under pressure."

"Commander, I don't think I can do this. All the stress is bad for the baby."

"What baby?" She whipped around so fast that I was surprised she didn't give herself whiplash.

"Me. I'm the baby." She muttered 'god' under her breath and we kept moving through the streets.

The lady on the loudspeaker continued shouting out orders and talking about perfection.

"Well, she sounds absolutely charming."

"Stay focused. We're looking for a krogan warlord." The broken concrete crunched under my boots as we moved forward.

"Observation post. And ready for a fight, it looks like." I sighed loudly when Garrus said that.

"Garrus, is it bad that I was really hoping to just sneak in and out?"

"No, but you are with Shepard, so we all know that's not going to happen." A hail of bullets descended from the top of the stairs before the Commander could retort. _Okay, Andrea, this is it. A battle. Not a game. Real lives on the edge. Oh god, I don't think I can do it! This is another living person!_ My heart was pounding in my eardrums and I was finding it increasingly hard to breathe. I could hear Shepard yelling, but my brain couldn't decode what she was saying. A three fingered hand yanked me behind a concrete block.

"Andrea, hold your breath and count to ten." I barely heard what he was saying but somehow managed to follow his instructions. Bullets were still piercing the air but I felt calmer after counting a few times.

"Now take your pistol and aim, the way we've taught you." I nodded and pointed the barrel at the blue armored man. My hands were visibly shaking but I managed to pull the trigger. The first four shots missed or barely grazed him, but the fifth one lodged itself into the man's throat and my mind remembered what the loudspeaker had said; It's kill or be killed. I didn't allow my mind to think about the life I had just cut short as I shot another mercenary. It hit him in the leg and as he fell Shepard shot him in the head. I couldn't look away as his cranium exploded and his brain splattered against the wall behind him. I kept my gaze away from the corpses as we ran passed them. The shaking hadn't stopped but at least I could breathe again.

"The first one is always the hardest." The Commander's voice was full of sympathy.

"Yeah. Logically it was either me or them though. I'll be fine." It was partially true. I had already begun reorganizing my mind to accept that the future was violent and if I was going to survive then I would have to fight my way through. But a piece of my psyche would probably never get over watching a man's head explode. I swept that broken piece under the metaphoric rug. A wounded enemy entered our visual as we crested the manmade hill. We approached him slowly, guns ready and aimed.

"Shit. Shit! It won't stop bleeding… I'm gonna… Son of a bitch!" Fuck. I already felt guilty about killing someone. This wasn't going to help. I watched as he struggled to get himself on his feet. He had been shot in the thigh but it didn't look too bad. He would probably survive as long as he didn't get on Shepard's bad side. He began rambling about how we weren't berserkers then said he wouldn't tell us anything.

"Hey, buddy. This won't end well if you don't tell the Commander what she wants." His mouth remained shut despite my threat though. _Guess I'm not intimidating enough._ Well, at least until Shepard mentioned the medi-gel. He was still a little hesitant but he began spilling the beans regardless. He spoke of the krogan warlord and someone named Jedore. I managed to pay attention to what he was saying but damn was his voice annoying. _Great, crazed krogan. Exactly what I wanted to fucking fight._ I was pulled out of my thoughts when the merc's radio went off. The commander didn't even hesitate when she told him to get rid of them, even at the cost of them running into krogan blind.

"If you start limping now, you might find a shady spot before you bleed out." _Well, I guess if he's gonna act like a bitch, he's gonna die like a bitch…_

"I guess he'll be reevaluating his life now." I watched as he limped away and we began moving out as soon as he was out of site.

"I'd say so. C'mon. Our warlord is somewhere in Jedore's lab." As she spoke the loudspeaker flared back on, the lady's voice barking out more orders to her mercenaries. When we rounded the corner bullets began flying through the air once more. We ducked behind makeshift cover and I took a few breaths before taking my shots. A few bullets grazed my armor, causing my shields to spark, but my aim was true for once. The bullets found homes in a man's chest while Shepard and Garrus took foes down in one shot to the head. I winced internally when their heads came apart but somehow I managed to not throw up the entire time.

We went down the metal ramp and ducked behind more blockades, popping up long enough to shoot the enemies on the bridge, before moving further into the compound. I hadn't noticed that I had stopped shaking until I killed my fifth person. It was becoming easier. The thought itself was terrifying. _What if I begin enjoying it? Where is the line drawn between having to kill and wanting to kill?_ Luckily I didn't have too much time to work myself into another panic attack, as more and more mercenaries came out of the woodwork.

"Damn, she was not kidding when she said she wanted a fucking army." My hand was beginning to cramp from holding my pistol and I really just wanted to go back to the ship. I was going to voice this when an explosion went off next to my head.

"Jesus Christ vampire hunter! Was that a fucking rocket? What the actual fuck? I don't want to lose half my face like Garrus!"

"Ah, it's not that bad. I've been told that some women find facial scars very attractive."

"Well, scientifically it has been proven that women, at least human women, do in fact find facial scars attractive due to an evolutionary need to pass off the genes of the strong. Having scars meant that you could fight off danger and shit, this is not the time to be rambling!" Another rocket hit the wall next to me. He didn't have a chance to fire a third rocket; a sniper round found its way into his heart.

We continued on and found ourselves in a bottleneck of sorts. Jedore's play army was on the wall, trying to take down a single krogan. _So stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or a Krogan and a few mercs. Fun fun fun_. Our red headed leader decided that taking out the mercenaries first would be easier. Her shots rang through the air and I allowed my own rounds to fire through the air. It was simpler to pretend that it was Shepard's or Garrus' rounds that finished off the adversaries. As we fired Jedore yelled more orders at her fake army; apparently if we weren't killed then there would be no bonuses. _I wonder what their bonuses are even like. What's the pay rate for being a thug? Is it hourly? Is there vacation days? Medical? Fuck, I'm off track again_. I refocused and continued shooting at the remaining enemies. Garrus had the pleasure of claiming the last life.

"Stand down, you two." That's all the Commander said as we approached the potentially crazed krogan. I always forget how ballsy she is.

"You… Are different… New. You don't smell like this world. Seven night cycles, and I have felt only the need to kill. But you… Something makes me speak." _Well, that's a comforting thought. It's like literally the only thing that kept him from murderizing all of us was pure luck and Shepard smelling nice. I wonder if it's too late to go find a sane job. Maybe something in accounting._

"He's pretty big for only being a week old." I managed to keep most of my thoughts to myself for once but that managed to slip out.

"They must breed them full-size, ready to kill. Not much improvement over regular if they need training." Overhearing us, the krogan told us that it was his blood and bone that told him to kill. And how he had been rejected before he was even awake. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. I knew that feeling but currently didn't want to address it. I'd have plenty of time to work myself into a funk later.

On the bright side, this rejected krogan was sane enough to show us the way. And move a piece of sheet metal that would've taken all three of us to move, so that was nice.

The downside was Jedore downgraded from a shit ton of soldiers to a fuck ton. _Did I say downgraded? I meant upgraded._

We slowly fought our way through the thugs, dodging bullets and rockets. At one point I got hit head on and thought for sure that I was going to die and make my way back to hell, where I came from. Luckily medi-gel was there to save the day. We made our way up ramps and across bridges, fighting turians, salarians, and humans alike.

"Commander, I'm getting hangry," I said this as we made our way up another damn ramp.

"Don't you mean 'hungry'?"

"No, hangry. It's a mix between angry and hungry." Another door slide open followed by another firefight. Rockets flew through the air and I could tell that the Commander was getting a little impatient herself. She was using more biotics and her eye would twitch every once in awhile. During the course of this mission, I had realized that she did not like the shielded enemies. For those, she would usually try to use her biotics to rip their shields down and then either Garrus or myself would fire at them until they dropped.

"You and me both. We should be getting to Okeer soon, though. Then this damn mission will be over."

"Commander, if I survive this I will buy you some chocolate when we get back to the Citadel." As another rocket fired over my head I popped up from my hiding spot and took a few shots at the human holding the launcher. She grunted a few times before falling down. Once the group was dead we moved on through another door then up more stairs. I groaned when we were met by more mercs, shields sizzling as I darted up the stairs and behind cover. _At least there were no rocket launchers this time around._ One of the mercs crumpled to the ground when I shot him straight through his forehead. I was too disgusted by the way his body fell to be amazed by the shot.

We rounded the corner to find more enemies waiting for us. One by one they were shot down. A few of their bullets made it through my shields but whatever technology they used in these suits quickly mended the wounds. Either that or the adrenaline was making me unfeeling of pain. _Ah, nevermind, there are the rockets. Also, I think that I might be slightly delirious._ My shields crackled and pain flared throughout my body when one of those bloody explosives hit me right in the chest. I crouched behind cover and tried not to cry in pain. I stayed there until my shields recovered then rejoined the fight.

The mercs kept coming like ants, every time we moved forward we would get bombarded with bullets. We somehow made progress, as slow as it was, though.

"Damn, these guys like rockets. Where the fuck do you even get this many rockets?"

"Omega." I really need to go to this 'Omega' place. Seems like it has all the cool toys. I took a shot at the rocket welding asshat, getting her right in the chest. A few more rounds and she fell to the ground. We rounded another corner to find more mercs with more launchers. _This is the day that never ends. How can you even afford this many rockets? Shit! I totally forgot about my Ruby! How could I forget about that?_ Orange light covered my face as I pulled up my Omni-tool. I hit the shortcut that I had made to summon the little red drone and soon she was put together. Ruby floated in front of my face before taking off after the psychos with explosives to deliver sweet justice. She fired off rockets of her own, killing two with one blow, before flying to the next merc.

"Andrea… Why didn't you summon that earlier?" Garrus took a shot at one of the mercs that were trying to shoot Ruby down as he talked.

"Ah, well, you see… I felt like it would be cheating?"

"You forgot didn't you?"

"Oh, hey, look! No more mercs! Let's go!"

"You totally forgot."

"You are a vending machine of lies, Garrus!" We made our way to another door and it slid open with a swishing sound. _How do you slam doors when you're angry nowadays? The price we pay for convenience._

"Shepard, don't shoot! You know me!" An asari in a lab coat was cowering next to a lab table. This was the first time seeing an asari this closely. She was a very pretty color but something about her seemed off. She rattled on about how she turned off the cameras when she says that it was Shepard and how she was glad to see that it was her shooting up the place. But her body language was stiff. _But if Shepard knows her and she's still alive then she must be an ally._ She reintroduced herself as Rana Thano-something or another. And mentioned how the Commander made her outrun a nuke. _Well, that explains why she's acting so awkwardly. I wouldn't know how to act if I ran into someone who almost killed me with a bomb. I would probably be pretty nasty._

"I assume you have a good reason for being at this lab?" That's all the redhead said after the asari's rambling. _I wonder if that's how the Commander feels when she has to talk to me._ Rana began explaining the work she was doing in the lab, how it was completely beneficial. She wasn't working for Jedore and Okeer was just trying to do something good, even if his methods were extreme. She looked at a pile of bones when she said that. _Why do I have a feeling that he's just a joy to be around._

"Time to run again, Rana. You never know what I might blow up next." Rana took Shepard's advice, though she sounded bitter about the whole incident, saying that she was planning on staying the hell away from Shepard and anything she does.

"Thanks anyway, Shepard." Was the last thing she said before making her way through the door.

"Was it smart to let her leave?" While I didn't want her murdered in cold blood, Garrus made a point. _Loose lips sink ships after all._ Shepard simply waved it off and opened the next set of doors. Behind them was a krogan standing in front of a console. And next to him was the biggest krogan I had seen. Granted, I haven't seen many krogans. _He's still a big boy, though. Or is it a girl? What do female krogan even look like? Now that I think about it I haven't seen a lot of female aliens at all, other than asari. Weird. I'll have to ask Mordin about it_. During my inner monologue, the warlord apparently started his own speech. A very rude speech, judging by the way Shepard was responding. I decided to check the krogan in the pod rather than listen to him.

His head was covered in what looked like scales of some sort. They were a beautiful slate color that stood in contrast with his orange and tan skin. His armor was a slightly lighter color of gray and had a glowing blue indent. _I wonder what that's_ for. Before I had a chance Okeer turned to me.

"Get away from that, girl. You couldn't hope to understand my legacy."

"Excuse me?" I could feel my eyebrow raising on its own. But if I was going to be stuck on a ship with this guy then it couldn't hurt to be polite.

"See, your puny mind can't even comprehend it's limitations." I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I had to deal with these types in college and apparently now I would have to deal with them in the workplace. _Awesome_. Before I had the chance to give him an earful Jedore came on the loudspeaker, shouting about how she had traced the krogan release back to Okeer. After she gave the command to flush the tanks gas began pouring into the room.

"She's that weak-willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damned valve! Shepard! You want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay." _Wow, first he's being rude and now he's begging. Aren't these steps in the Five Stages of Grief?_ He went on to explain how the krogan in the tank was 'pure', whatever the fuck that meant, and how it had to survive. He gave us the order to kill Jedore while he stayed to protect the tank.

"Well, Okeer, I'd love to stay and chat, but you're a total bitch," I called back to him as the door slid shut behind me.

"Always have to have the last word, don't you."

"Only to assholes… And Miranda. But that's only because she makes some pretty interesting faces." Shepard chuckled as we ran down the ramps leading to the storage bay. As the door opened we heard Jedore bitching about how she didn't care who we were and how this was her world. _Man, she is just a delight!_ When the door closed I heard it lock behind us.

Then I heard the sound of gears turning.

And then the sound of metal falling heavily on metal.

That fucking bitch had a freaking mech.

"Commander, why don't we have mechs? They seem pretty awesome. And useful."

"Well, we might not have a mech. But I do have a rocket launcher for that bitch." She pulled out the ML-77 Missile Launcher and fired, hitting the mech right in the leg.

"Have you been holding back this whole time? How rude!" I sent my drone out as Shepard hit it with another rocket.

"Well, you know. Gotta hold back a little for the big finale." Shepard ducked right as Jedore's rocket came flying towards her. I shot at a krogan that had been summoned like a rabid attack dog. After several hits and him charging at me, he fell. I hunkered behind one of the clamps as the mech shot a rocket at me. Ruby flew around it, shooting as many rockets as it could, while Garrus shoot at Jedore herself. Very few of his shots missed. As the mech exploded Garrus nailed Jedore straight through the head. I looked away as she fell.

"What's Okeer doing up there anyways? You know, other than being completely useless." I tried to look up into the lab but it was too hard to see.

"You already don't like him?" Judging by Shepard's voice, she also didn't like him.

"I told you. I'm hangry."

"Shepard, the lab alarms coincided with a systems failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access." EDI's voice came over the radio while another computer talked about contamination and emergency venting. We ran up the ramps as fast as we could. As the door slide open, Okeer's voice echoed through the room. But his body was crumpled on the floor next to his 'legacy'. His recording talked about how this krogan was perfect and his lack of knowledge in why the Collectors wanted humans.

"Why would someone so fanatical sacrifice himself for one krogan?" Garrus looked between the warlord and the tank krogan.

"Well, if it's as 'perfect' as he kept saying then logically it makes more sense for this krogan to survive over Okeer, right?"

"She's right. A 'pure' krogan could pack one hell of a punch. We can alway use another heavy hitter." Shepard looked at the tank, assessing how we could move it.

"If he'll help. I doubt anyone's asked for his opinion." She tilted her head before turning on her radio, telling the Normandy that we had a package that needed to be picked up and that Okeer was a no-go. Within five minutes the Normandy had sent the shuttle to the landing pad outside of the facility. In a combined effort, we managed to wheel the tank down the ramps slowly. Twenty minutes later we had the tank strapped in, so to speak, and were finally making it back to the mothership.

By the time we made it back to the main ship my eyes were drooping. I managed to take my armor off, trudge my way to the shower, and grab something to eat before making it to my bed and passing out over the covers.


End file.
